Fire and the Ocean
by marianna
Summary: Set during last night's episode, Plan B. It goes AU after, and a little during the dance. One shot.


You tell yourself that you'd only asked him to dance to spare Gia's feelings, and while you might have believed that then, as your wrists lock awkwardly behind his neck, that theory flies right out the window. His hands settle comfortably on your waist after a moment, and as he stares into your eyes, you practically forget to breathe. You open your mouth to speak, but words won't come. You wish you could just close your eyes, and sway away to the music, but his eyes have locked on yours, and you're powerless to do anything but stare back. You're not even dancing, you realize-just shuffling your feet back and forth, trapped in each other's embrace. This was not the way you'd planned the evening as going, but though you'll probably regret it in the morning, you can't help but loving the feeling of his hands on you. _I love Duncan_, your brain rationalizes, and though you do, Duncan's black and white memory pales in comparison to Logan's all consuming Technicolor. He dips head slightly, and without thinking, you arch up, and suddenly you've fallen into your old habits. You've shared this embrace more than a couple of times. Out of the corner of your eye, you watch as Wallace stands off to the side of the dance floor, his arm around Jane's waist, his eyes guarded. You start to make a mental note to make sure he's Okay, when this dance-which is taking forever, is over, but just then someone knocks into you from behind, and Logan tightens his grip on you. Your eyes fly up to meet his once more, and just for a second, time seems to stand still. Your lips part, and its like you are the only two people when he dips his head down lower-his lips barely an inch away from yours.

It's the whispers that drag you out of your reverie. _Is that_ Veronica Mars, _dancing with_ Logan Echolls? She _sure didn't waste any time. What, now that he's be acquitted he's good enough to be seen with? I knew she wasn't good enough for Duncan…I guess one rich guy is the same as another to _her Instinctively, you flinch, causing him to gaze at you with open concern.

"Are you…?" He asks, unintentionally licking his lips, and causing you to blink. You'd forgotten-no, you _hadn't_ forgotten, you'd _pushed away_ how deeply he affected you.

"Do you wanna get out of here?" You ask, and while your voice isn't exactly your own, it isn't a stranger's either. "I'm not really a dance at the gym kind of gal." A small smirk plays on his lips as he gazes down at you, his hands still fused to you.

"You know its where all those Shark/Jet rumbles happen-those are never good. Especially when you're the one who has to distinguish between the body parts." You can hear the faint strains of the song ending and brave another glance up at him.

"What's it gonna be?" You ask him, your lips practically pursing on their own. Suddenly, you're ridiculously glad you remembered to slather on some lip-gloss before coming. His gaze is riveted to your mouth, and you barely suppress a grin. _Ridiculously_ glad. "Because I'm pretty good with the picture taking." And that sentence didn't make sense. You look at him for confirmation of your insanity-he can't possibly want to spend any more time with you than he already has this week, but he nods, almost imperceptivity, and you have another thing to be ridiculously glad about.

"I'm sure Gia can manage the booth on her own." Your hands are shaking, you realize, and you smile tightly, as you unwrap them from around his neck and step out of the circle of his embrace. You're practically out of the gym by the time you remember the reason for being there in the first place.

"I forgot my camera." You toss him the keys to the car without thinking, and while a small part of you believes that you can trust him, the rest of you just hopes he doesn't make it that far by the time you get in and out. "I'll be right back." He nods, his eyes guarded, and you feel as though you've just fucked up in some way, but you're not sure how, or why, or at the prospect that you feel so sad as a result of it. You turn to glance in his direction again, thinking that he's probably halfway out to the parking lot, but find him standing exactly where you'd left him, his eyes boring into yours. The Macarena is blaring from the stereo system as you squeeze back into the gym, and you've got to laugh as you hear it, rushing to the ticket booth and grabbing your camera strap from the table as Gia stares at you menacingly.

"I thought you were my friend, Veronica." She whines sadly, her coal black eyes fixing on yours.

"Me too." You respond softly, surprised with yourself as you do so. She probably didn't hear you, but you can't muster enough energy to care, as you speed back into the hallway. There's a pit the size of Texas in your stomach as you anticipate Logan's disappearance. Or a Le Baron sized imprint on the wall of the building, but your fears alleviate as you catch sight of him. "You waited." You breathe as you reach him, he grimaces, his eyes dark and impenetrable.

"Did you expect me to go somewhere?" His voice is low, and you can't pretend that a buzz of something doesn't go through you.

"I gave you the keys." You continue, your eyes never leaving his. It's as if he's caught you in his web and won't let you go. "I _assumed_ you'd go to the car."

"It's dark outside," He counters. "There could be monsters." His winks mischievously and you can't help but smiling back. "Since I knew you could kick the butt of any offending creature, I waited. I mean, who else could protect me but you?" He laughs then, and it's a sound you've gone so long without hearing, that the instant it's over, you want to hear it again.

"Where do you want to go?" You ask as you're pushing out of the building. You're looking straight ahead, afraid of getting caught up in his gaze again.

"You wanted to leave, Mars. You tell me." You get to the car quicker than you'd expected, and he leans against the driver's side door, his eyes hidden in the darkness, even though you can still feel them on you.

"I didn't really think that far ahead," You mumble crossly, edging him out of the way, and holding your hand out for your keys.

"So you just wanted to get me out of there, didn't you? Wanted to get me alone?" You can't help but laughing at his tone, but the noises freezes in your throat as he presses the length of his body against yours.

"_I_ wanted to get out of there, Echolls. And I didn't wanty the guilt of your death by listening to Gia talk, on my conscience." He nods as he stares into your eyes. The door handle is making an indentation on your back, but you barely feel it as he leans down closer, his eyes never leaving yours. You shiver slightly, but as his lips touch yours, everything is forgotten. Your wrap your arms around him and hold on for dear life, because he's the only thing that's real.


End file.
